UK Says More Dorm Construction Will Create Thousands of Local Jobs

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Ongoing construction at the University of Kentucky is expected to create thousands of jobs over the coming years. With work well underway on a new residence hall at UK, officials are looking to add more student living space on campus.

Work on the first residence hall, New Central, is scheduled for completion next August. President Eli Capilouto announced Monday that a proposal to continue a second phase of construction will go before the Board of Trustees in October.

“If approved, the construction of four additional complexes, roughly 2,100 beds, will bring more than 2,300 direct and indirect jobs, $2.2 million in state taxes and $1 million in local taxes.”

UK is leasing land to a private developer called EdR, which will build and own the dorm buildings. Capilouto says the partnership allows UK to keep what he calls the “Kentucky Promise” of improving education even during a tough economic climate.